Gene Notes

Some random and some not-so-random thoughts on family history.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Great Stuff!

One of the items on my to-do list for the Lexington Public Library was an obituary For Elizabeth Chapman Graves Coleman. Pretty Lizzie, as she was known, was a sister of my great-great-great grandmother, Barbara Garland Graves Chinn. Barbara died in 1850 in Lexington, Missouri, and very little of her brothers and sisters was known to me.

I easily found what was not so much an obituary as a tribute to Elizabeth, which named her children, sort of. It's a practice that is sometimes still seen today, where the daughters are not named other than by their husband's name, such as Mrs. Levi Prewitt. I really hate that. Well, I soon found out that Mrs. Levi Prewitt was Mary Ellen Coleman and I was lucky enough to find an obituary for both Levi & Mary Ellen. I then went to work on Mrs. Dr. S. W. Willis, Mrs. J. L. Calloway (turned out to be Mrs. J. T. Calloway) and Mrs. Willard Davis. Mrs. Dr. S. W. Willis (and it is that way on her death cert, don't ya love it) I found was Anna courtesy of one of her children's death certificates; Mr. J. T. Calloway was Lucy and Mrs Willard Davis was Adda or Addie Coleman.

My search led me to some great obituaries for daughters and their husbands, and one that is totally unreadable. I thought I'd put it up in case someone else can read it! the obituary is for a former attorney general for Kansas. The obituary appeared in the Kansas City, Missouri Times.

Click on the images to view a larger image. The tribute for Elizabeth Graves Coleman, you will need to click on again once it comes up in the browser to be able to read it.

3 comments:

Topeka, Kansas, Dec. 7th - General Willard Davis, ex-attorney General of this state, died at 5 p.m. to-day of congestion of the brain.He had for years past been a prominent citizen of this state. During his term as attorney general the bonds and papers which were to have been used as evidence against the defaulting Dr. something something something were lost and it is said that this fact so wore on General Davis that it resulted in softening of the brain. The time of his funeral has not yet been announced.

Topeka, Kansas, Dec. 7th - General Willard Davis, ex-attorney General of this state, died at 5 p.m. to-day of congestion of the brain.He had for years past been a prominent citizen of this state. During his term as attorney general the bonds and papers which were to have been used as evidence against the defaulting treasurer Samuel Lappin were lost and it is said that this fact so wore on General Davis that it resulted in softening of the brain. The time of his funeral has not yet been announced.